The invention relates in general to rifle bipods and in particular to adapters for attaching bipods to rifles.
Some bipods, for example, a Harris bipod, may be designed to attach to a sling swivel stud that is fixed to a rifle. Many rifles, however, may not have a swing swivel stud. Some rifles may be equipped with a Picatinny rail. The Picatinny rail is a flattened bar having a major dimension much greater than its minor dimension and having a series of transverse grooves formed across the top of it. It has a cross section in the shape of a wide hexagon. The military standards for Picatinny rails are set forth in Military Standard 1913 entitled “Dimensioning of Accessory Mounting Rail for Small Arms Weapons” which is hereby incorporated by reference.
A bipod that is designed to attach to a sling swivel stud of a rifle may be attached to a rifle equipped with a Picatinny rail using a known adapter. However, the known adapter adds weight, cost and complexity to the combination of a bipod and a rifle with a Picatinny rail. In addition, the known adapter may raise the profile of the rifle, which makes the shooter more visible to hostile parties.
A long-felt and unsolved need exists for a lighter, cheaper, less complex, and lower profile apparatus and method for interfacing a bipod and a rifle having a Picatinny rail.